SB 10.20.12
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 12
kṣetrāṇi śaṣya-sampadbhiḥ
karṣakāṇāṁ mudaṁ daduḥ
māninām anutāpaṁ vai
daivādhīnam ajānatām
SYNONYMS
kṣetrāṇi—the fields; śaṣya-sampadbhiḥ—with their wealth of grains; karṣakāṇām—to the farmers; mudam—joy; daduḥ—gave; māninām—to others who are falsely proud; anutāpam—remorse; vai—indeed; daiva-adhīnam—the control of destiny; ajānatām—not understanding.
TRANSLATION
With their wealth of grains, the fields gave joy to the farmers. But those fields created remorse in the hearts of those who were too proud to engage in farming and who failed to understand how everything is under the control of the Supreme.
PURPORT
It is common for people living in large cities to become miserable and disgusted when there is ample rainfall. They do not understand or have forgotten that the rain is nourishing the crops they will eat. Although they certainly enjoy eating, they do not appreciate that with the rain the Supreme Lord is feeding not only human beings but also plants, animals and the earth itself.
Modern, sophisticated people often look down their noses at those engaged in agricultural work. In fact, in American slang, a simple, unintelligent person is sometimes called "a farmer." There are also government agencies that restrict agricultural production because certain capitalists fear the effect on market prices. Because of various artificial and manipulative practices in modern governments, we find widespread food shortages throughout the world—even in the United States, among the poverty-stricken—and at the same time we find the governments paying farmers not to plant crops. Sometimes these governments throw huge amounts of food into the ocean. Thus the administration of the arrogant and ignorant, those who are too proud to obey the laws of God or too ignorant to recognize them, will always cause frustration among the people, whereas a God conscious government will provide abundance and happiness for all.